The pressure did not arrive as threats.
It arrived as favors.
A Gentle Encirclement
Within weeks of the delegation's departure, changes appeared around the Nihang chhauni.
New trade routes "coincidentally" shifted closer.Supplies arrived with no sender named.Travelers spoke warmly of protection offered elsewhere—protection with rules.
Nothing hostile.Nothing obvious.
But everything… conditional.
Arjanveer felt it like a tightening net.
"They're surrounding us without touching us," he said quietly to Gurbaaz.
Gurbaaz nodded. "Steel you can see. This?" He exhaled. "This is clever."
The Friendly Ally
Then came the familiar face.
Harjit Rao—once an ally, once a messenger who had helped coordinate relief during earlier crises—returned to the chhauni smiling broadly.
"You've done incredible work," Harjit said. "People trust you."
Jathedar Jasraj Singh listened without reaction.
Harjit leaned closer to Arjanveer later that evening.
"They don't want to control you," he said softly."They just want assurance you won't disrupt balance."
Arjanveer raised an eyebrow. "Balance for whom?"
Harjit hesitated—just a fraction.
"For everyone," he replied.
The Proposal
That night, Harjit revealed the real offer.
A council seat.Advisory power.Guaranteed supply lines.Recognition as a stabilizing force.
"All without ownership," he insisted."You remain independent. In name."
Arjanveer felt a chill.
"In name," he repeated.
Harjit smiled. "Names matter."
The Quiet Question
Arjanveer sought out Jathedar Jasraj Singh beneath the Nishan Sahib.
"They won't attack us," Arjanveer said."They'll reshape the world until we don't fit."
Jasraj Singh nodded."Control prefers consent. It is cheaper."
"What do we do?" Arjanveer asked.
The jathedar looked toward the camp—warriors training, children visiting, villagers learning.
"We remain visible," he said."And we remain inconvenient."
A Line in the Open
The next morning, the Nihang Order made an unexpected move.
They refused all unnamed supplies.Published their movements openly.Invited surrounding villages to observe—not follow—their work.
No secrecy.No favors.No special status.
Harjit confronted Arjanveer privately.
"You're isolating yourselves," he warned."People will think you're arrogant."
Arjanveer met his eyes calmly.
"If honesty costs us allies," he said,"they were never allies."
Harjit said nothing more.
He left before sunset.
The Consequence
By nightfall, rumors began.
"They think they're above everyone.""They rejected cooperation.""They can't be trusted."
Arjanveer heard them without anger.
This was the price of refusing control.
Not attack.
Misunderstanding.
Closing
As Arjanveer cleaned his blade beneath the stars, he realized:
Steel wounds the body.Deceit wounds trust.
And healing trust would require more patience than any battle.
The Nihang Order had chosen clarity over comfort.
Now the world would decide—
Whether it valued truth…
Or preferred a convenient lie.